Graphic and disturbing imagery ahead. You have been warned.
CHAPTER IV - ACT I - Nightmare
She thought him dead— gored through the abdomen by a demonic spear. Heard him say his last words: live on without him. They had to abandon his corpse, and Crow's, to escape the Vermillion Knight's wrath.
But his face was right there; distressed and dirty, but exactly as she remembered.
"Rean…?"
The hilt of his tachi clattered to the floor, the noise causing him to stir. Rean's heavy eyelids trembled, and just a tiny bit did she hope they would open just so she could see the kindness in his purple eyes again. Their ARCUS hummed, but she couldn't hear it past the sound of his animated breathing.
She checked his pulse. Alive— unlike when she last cradled him in her arms. His chest was heaving, but whole— no gaping hole through. How she wished she could hear his heartbeat too. She embraced his hand, and a self-indulgent idea came to her mind.
It was warm when she patted it on her head.
Fie smiled. She missed his smile too— but this was enough. Or maybe too much. Her tears were overflowing, and she found it hard to keep still. She wanted to coddle him, more so when his lips parted.
"...Fie…" he said dreamily.
His voice was the same too. Maybe just a bit deeper.
"Yes— I'm here…"
She was. Rean wasn't alone anymore; she was there with him. They were together, and now, nothing will change that.
...But out of all the times she wanted a sword run through her back, this wasn't one of them. His head banged on the floor as she was forced to jump forward.
Fie tumbled and dodged the iron blade as it came in strategic swings. Vaulting atop a bookcase, she leaped over her attacker. Her hood was tattered and cut, but more importantly, Rean was alone on the floor— not in her warm arms. Cold eyes narrowed at their intruder.
"Another assassin. Great. You guys never learn, do you?" the steel-clad warrior said. She was, as the locals would put it: a strong Nord woman. "In my honor as housecarl, you shall NOT lay a finger on him."
She held her shield up defensively while she edged closer to Rean. His poor nose was forced to breathe in the taint of her boots as it dared to step near him. No wonder he was still unconscious— her feet probably smelled of sweat and whatever filthy soap muscle-headed, iron-tittied cows like her bathed in.
But as Festus said, even beef smelled delicious when burned to a crisp. Fie's hand crackled with electricity.
That small display of hostility presumably spooked the housecarl as she lunged forward, her sword coming down in a wide arc. A feint— no trained swordsman would swing their weapon like that in a tight space. Fie moved slightly to the left.
She guessed right; the tip never reached the floor. Instead, the woman spun and attempted to bash her face with her shield. A gloved hand intercepted it, but Fie let the momentum carry her into her own roundhouse kick. It connected with the woman's neck with a leathery thump.
Landing on her hands, Fie booted twice, one high and one sweep. The first was blocked by the shield, and she cut herself when a sword parried her leg. She didn't care. Within the same movement, she tucked in and launched both feet to the woman's chin.
Violet arcs trailed in the air with her somersault. Her hands fell upon the woman's shoulders, and a wave thunder burst forth around her prey. She didn't wail, so Fie dug her knee right into her face. The housecarl staggered back. Singed— but very much alive. She held her shield up again and charged forward.
Fie rolled to the side, but in an unexpected move, the woman discarded her sword and grabbed her by the ankle. Her back shattered wood and stone, and she was tossed upwards. The floorboards of the bedroom above splintered as she crashed through it.
Regaining her footing on the ceiling, she narrowly dodged an arrow zipping towards her shoulder. Another one fired from the woman's bow shortly after, but she froze in midair with a gust of ice.
Jumping down, she hurled the frozen arrow back and followed up with a dropkick. Both were blocked by the shield. Spinning once, Fie held out her hand and tried to debilitate the woman with point-blank squalls of frostbite to her head.
Fie was simply shoved back; the frost attack had no effect whatsoever. The woman defended again, her shield a steadfast rampart between her and Rean.
Tenacious, that one. This was why Fie hated dealing with Nords. She favored the speed of shock-aspected magic, but the freezing bite of frost spells was more suited for crippling her opponents.
That was not the case when fighting the barbaric numbskulls. Their tough skin was as thick and impenetrable to the cold as their dumb racist snides. Fie could use fire spells to conserve her magicka, but she didn't want to risk hurting Rean.
Although…
The woman pounded her sword into her shield. "What's the matter? I can do this all night," she boasted.
Fie scoffed in response. "...No, you won't."
A bolt of arcane fire flung from her hand. It dispersed harmlessly on the woman's shield. Futile, but that wasn't her aim. She slung another fireball, this time towards the pillar nearby. The impact seared a crack in the wood, and the heat burned off the rest, causing it to crumble.
She just needed to make sure Rean was okay, right? Breezehome was too shoddy a place to call his home, anyway.
Several more jets of fire burst from her fingertips. It burned everything: the cupboards, bookshelves, tables, and the stairs. She dodged as the iron sword came down again, but Fie held her back by kicking a fiery chair at her.
The entire place was ablaze. Smoke filled her lungs and irritated her eyes, yet she stood there in the wake of her arson. She waited. And watched. The two combatants stared each other down, but time was ticking. The flames had reached the roofs, sending pieces of it crashing. She still stood there, motionless.
She struck when the housecarl bailed and rushed over to her master. With her opponent distracted, Fie stabbed a dagger into the woman's calf.
She would have taken advantage and countered, but the effects were immediate. Her arm halted mid-thrust, and a bright green haze covered her body. She dropped to the floor. Fie didn't consider herself a sadist, but the terror and desperation on the woman's face brought a smile to her lips.
Poisons weren't her thing. It offered no benefit other than making her assassinations even more effortless— cheapening the kill. Despite that, she laced a throwaway knife on the rare occasions paralysis would have made things hilarious. Like watching a Khajiit drown slowly in a lake in place of a cat. Or in this case, a cow immolated alive in her own pen.
But she couldn't stay— not with how it was an inferno here and she felt sweaty. She hefted Rean up, and she chuckled at how tall and heavy he was- probably because of his armor and that he grew a few more riges in height. She barely reached his shoulders.
Thankfully, the smoke neutered his putrid alcoholic scent. Wrapping him in her arms, Fie carried him outside where the night air was crisp and fresh. Scorched debris blocked the entranceway behind them, and the house collapsed. It lit up Whiterun like a goddamned burning hay pile.
Good riddance.
The nearby residents had come running, and they were staring cautiously at the two strolling out of the burning building. Several guards already had their weapons drawn too. Far too many for Fie to fight past without painting the whole city red. And it wasn't like she'd let go of Rean to do that.
She was not the type to curse— she preferred creatively made expletives. But shit. How much bounty did arson go for, again?
"Halt! By order of the Jarl, stop right there," the bald man said. He was wearing the same yellow clothed chainmail as his compatriots, but Fie recognized him as acting "Commander" of the city guards. Caius, she remembered, and only because it was one letter away from Gaius.
"I have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people yadda yadda yadda— how much do you want?" she yelled. Impatiently and right to the point, and hopefully, they would leave her and Rean alone. She set him down nearby just in case.
She glared when Commander Caius sneered. "I'm afraid that won't work this time, assassin. You see, the person you're holding right there is quite… important, to say the least."
He drew his sword and pointed it threateningly at her head. "Your pitiful bribe would be a peasant's share compared to the reward I'll receive for saving him."
...Why.
"Guards, arrest her!"
Saving him? She was doing just that. Saving him from the loneliness that was consuming him. And now the bastards had the audacity to take him away to save him?
Why was the world so intent on keeping her away from her friends, anyway? They were already apart for more than a year, and now everyone wants to get in the way of their reunion. Was it a hobby? Was it torture? All Fie ever wanted was to see them again.
It was heartless. Even when she found one alive, fate wanted to shred her for it. It was… monstrous.
...But fate wasn't the only monster here.
She grinned. Sudden torrents of wind snuffed out the lights from their torches. All light that was left was from the streams of black Nohval and viridescent Esmelas encircling Fie. Incandescent green tattoos smoldered onto her skin, and the black gusts blurred her form.
The approaching guards hesitated when the air around them cried. It was a howl of terror.
A War Cry.
If Skyrim wanted a bloodbath, then this Jaeger was happy to oblige.
"What are you doing?! Get her!" Caius ordered. "Kill her if you have to. She serves no other purpose than to— "
His words were cut off when his head did.
It hit the pavement with a viscid thud, the blood from the man's neck-less body spurting everywhere. She blew his stupid skull clean off, but that was with her holding back. She didn't want to get brain juice on her fingers just yet.
The streets of Whiterun plunged into chaos. Most ran. Others stayed to fight- she didn't care. The stampede of feet was music to her ears. At least the ignorant halfwits who fled were smart; she would have killed them too. Fie grabbed the blade from the Commander's dead grasps. Another guard had rushed towards her, screaming.
He screamed again when he could no longer feel his legs. His hips were split diagonally through, and he slid off them comically, bleeding profusely. Caius's sword broke, so she grabbed the new one. It met the same fate when it chopped off the arms of two.
"By the Divines… help us…" said one of the rear guards— right before Fie's two severed blades punctured his lungs. She kicked his sizable chin away and dodged a bash from behind. The guard's shield cracked from her fist, and she ripped it out of their hands. Their helmet ruptured and their eyes burst into bloody spectacles when she thrashed the rim of the shield right in their sockets.
Another came close to grazing her. Fie paid him back with unmentionable pain up his unmentionables. His groan was amusing, so she shoved her arm down his gullet and yanked his voice box out. Or she thought it was— she couldn't tell. Did she yank out the right one? It was fragrant and warm and bloody and soft so it probably didn't matter. He was dead.
And so was the rest of Whiterun. Bloodily mutilated with their own weapons, mashed to a pulp on the wall, and arrows skewering out of their knees, they were all dead. It was amazing how easy it was to swat out their lives like the flies they were. Their blood was a charming red on the road. Commander Caius' smug grin was still on his sundered head, so she smashed it into a fruity paste under her heel. His cranium ground on her sole, and it was a delightful crunch one would hear when wild animals feasted on their bones.
And the smell, by the Goddess, was breathtaking. Smoke, fire, guts, piss, and blood— lots and lots of blood. It smelled so good she could vomit.
She did. The puke, on the other hand, didn't smell so great. Now she had to face her Rean with THAT in her mouth.
But they were together at last— no more asshats getting in their way. Her Rean would forgive her for the odor; he reeked of alcohol too, after all. That and vomit went hand in hand according to a drunken Sara.
Fie knelt beside him and caressed his sleeping face. Some red got on his rosy cheeks. She blushed too; it was beautiful on him. She lathered more of it, more and more until he became his most precious. She wanted to lick him like that, his lips probably tasted heavenly. His saliva would be a luscious complement to all the blood.
It was tempting. Fie wanted to tear their clothes off right then and there. It was chilly, but Rean was incredibly warm. She desired to make him hers— no, he was already. But she lusted for more. His loving arms. The muscles he's built. His awkward and gentle smile. His toned chest. Everything.
He was HER Rean. Skyrim can't have ANY of him.
To hell with it. She held his chin and leaned in close. Even without his consent, she wanted to feel his kiss.
It would be their first, out of many to come.
...
"...Alisa…"
Rean slurred out the one name she never wanted to hear. She stopped just before their lips touched, and her breath became uneven. It shocked her out of her trance, and the markings on her body faded away.
That's right. She had Rean, but she could never have his heart. It belonged to someone else. Fie accepted that they could only ever be friends. The best of friends; comrades. Never lovers. But comrades protected each other, so she'll do exactly that.
That was utter bullshit, Fie wanted to mutter. She felt tired; exhausted. That wasn't good. She tried to stand, but her limbs failed her, and she fell on top of Rean.
No, THIS was utter bullshit. If Fie fainted now, she'd be dead by morning. Executed— separated by death once again. Biting her tongue to stay awake, Fie frantically tried to get up. A bit of strength came back to her, but it wasn't enough; it wouldn't be enough for her to escape, much less while carrying Rean.
"Rean…" she pleaded his name. He was her last resort. She desperately called out to him, to spur him awake. She needed him now. Needed his protection. She didn't want to die— not when they just found each other. If it was him, the Dragonborn, he could do something— anything. To protect her, like he always did.
"Please… wake up…!"
Wake up, and save her from the year-long nightmare she's had to live through.
But he didn't. Rean remained blissfully asleep.
Life really was cruel to her. At the very least, she saw his cute face one last time. Maybe that was all she could ever get. Her tears streamed down to his chest before the void lulled her once again into her abyssal nightmare.
Finally done with that bit. Yes. TL;DR of this is basically Yandere Assassin Fie with Dragonborn Rean.
Here are some terms from Trails of Cold Steel that might help for non-fans:
Zemuria - Fie's home 'world', but it is mostly just one large supercontinent.
Erebonia - or 'The Empire' in Zemuria. Also her home country, but she wasn't born there.
Orbal Energy - the magical energy in her home game. They come in 7 elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Time, Space, and Mirage.
Nohval and Esmelas - the scientific terms for Time and Wind orbal energy, respectively. Time is parallel to dark energy in her franchise so you can consider it that, but not directly confirmed so. Both are Fie's natural elemental affinity in gameplay.
ARCUS - a portable device (similar to a large flip phone) that allows the user to cast 'Arts' or spells in her home game. They also allow the user to form a 'combat link' with another ARCUS user, connecting their thoughts and actions, which let them formulate battle strategies (or follow-up attacks in gameplay) without verbal communication. ARCUS's are also exclusively used by members of Class VII, which Fie is a student of.
Class VII - Fie Claussell's class in her school, The Thors Military Academy. Rean Schwarzer is a part of it too.
Vermillion Knight - the finale boss in Trails of Cold Steel II. Think of it like a giant red Gundam suit.
Jaeger - means Hunter. Groups of mercenaries that would do anything for the right mira.
Mira - the currency in Zemuria.
Riges - centimeters
Gunsword - Fie's weapon of choice. A pair of silver pistols with large knives attached like a bayonet.
War Cry - a Jaeger's signature skill. It grants the user superhuman physical capabilities at the cost of health points and sometimes sanity. Think of it like a Greater Power in Skyrim terms.
Feel free to ask if there are some that I missed or if there's anything you were curious about.